[Mb-civic] 1 in 20 - Editorial - Washington Post

[William Swiggard]

<>1 in 20

Wednesday, August 17, 2005; Page A12

IN THE UNITED STATES, approximately three out of every 1,000 people are 
HIV-positive. In the nation's capital, it's closer to 50 out of 1,000. 
That's a whopping 5 percent of D.C. residents: 1 in 20. Based on CIA 
statistics, if the District were a country, it would rank 11th in the 
world in HIV prevalence, between Mozambique (1 in 14) and Tanzania (1 in 
23).

How did this happen?

An exhaustive report released last week by the DC Appleseed Center for 
Law and Justice points to a failure of leadership, one key result of 
which is that there are no statistics available on the number of HIV 
cases in the District. That's right, the 1-in-20 figure is an estimate 
-- widely accepted as accurate -- calculated using a formula based on 
national trends. The city's HIV/AIDS Administration (HAA) does report 
AIDS cases, but it has not yet published information about HIV 
infections and how they were transmitted -- information that is vital 
for effective targeting of services for prevention, testing and treatment.

Why should the District rely on estimates to track this deadly virus, 
especially when major cities including Baltimore and New York manage to 
publish quarterly reports on new HIV cases? The HAA ought to have at 
least three years' worth of HIV data. Why not release it? Part of the 
problem reportedly is severe staffing shortages. More than half of the 
positions in the HAA's surveillance division, which is responsible for 
compiling the statistics, are vacant. The money to fill these positions 
has already been allocated -- the agency should have started hiring long 
ago. There is one vacancy, however, that requires much more thoughtful 
consideration. Lydia L. Watts, head of the HAA, was fired yesterday. Now 
Mayor Anthony A. Williams has an opportunity to find someone who is 
competent, dedicated (it is rare for an HAA chief to last more than a 
year) and willing to fix the problems plaguing this poorly managed agency.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/16/AR2005081601429.html?nav=hcmodule

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